1 TS 155 
.L 3 
I 9lh 
Copy 1 

. 





i !!-i I'M 1 1 ! 11 vv'ti;:' wmm 


■ > i 


iv’j ft 1 1 i liH . ! >;;t ¥, NM!i ‘ ' 
!‘!* ( 0!)lil'J,fl!' V ;KH) " 


4 ! i 1 ( 11 } (> I t.' 

! f ! j (; i' i • 




n 

Tl- 



Class__ 

Book_J=J2_ 

Copyright^?_ 

CjQEffilGHT DEPOSIT. 


Stockkeeping is merely an 
industrial application of 
the old proverb: 


“A place for everything and 
everything in its place." 













Dep’t of Modern Foremanship Chicago, Ill. 



o 2 


-n+l; 

<£l- 

C5IQ.J. 


LaSalle Extension University 


4046-4058 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVENUE - CHICAGO 


Department of 
Modern Foremanship 


To the Students of 
Modern Foremanship: 

In the eighth manual, the one on "Getting the Work Out," we emphasized the 
necessity of always being prepared to break up any interferences which 
might arise to slow up production. You will recall that we set up advance 
planning and thoro preparation as the high power fundamentals to use against 
such emergencies. 

Now we come to "The Foreman as Stockkeeper," another big factor in the make¬ 
up of an up-and-doing foreman. It dovetails so tightly with "Getting the 
Work Out" that it is difficult to say where one ends and the other begins. 

You must see to it that your supply of stock is maintained and replenished 
for future production just as when driving an automobile you must always 
keep sufficient gasoline in the tank to run you to the next filling station, 
and a little extra for safety. But why try to impress you with the im¬ 
portance of stockkeeping? Your shop experience has already done that. 

As a veteran foreman who is taking this course, in writing me recently about 
job analysis, said: "Even before I ever heard the term job analysis, I con¬ 
sidered it very important to take every job to pieces before starting it. 
Now that I know more about it, its importance to me has increased a hundred¬ 
fold. I suppose I could get along without it, but as I said to one of the men 
yesterday, 'Why carry such a handicap?’" In other words, the more you know 
about analysis, the more important it becomes. 

Get the same slant on stockkeeping which this veteran production man had 
on job analysis. No matter whether your stock consists of gold, wood, cloth, 
steel, paper, leather, iron, or what not, you will find scores of sugges¬ 
tions which will help you materially in ironing out the rough spots and re¬ 
moving any stockkeeping handicaps you may be carrying. Tackle the accom¬ 
panying problem in the same spirit. 

Bear in mind, also, that I want you to write me about anything that isn't per¬ 
fectly clear to you in the discussion or the problem, or for that matter, 
about any of your shop problems. I shall always be glad to help you. 


Cordially yours 



HD. VW 


Hugo Diemer, Director 






-f S155 

i 3 

* ^ 


















. 















, 




























rS 155 

• L 3 . 

LaSalle Extension University »t 

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN FOREMANSHIP 
HUGO DIEMER, Director 

CHICAGO 

PLEASE FILL THIS IN FIRST 

Matriculation No._ Date_192. 

Name_ 

Address (Complete) _ 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP PROBLEM No. 9 


Whenever you plan to do anything, you have learned from previous man¬ 
uals to consider the following factors: What you are going to do, 
and how, where, and when you are going to do it. The importance of 
these as well as the fundamental considerations have been the sub¬ 
jects of previous manuals and problems. 

There is still one important factor, however, to consider, for with¬ 
out it but little actual production could be accomplished. That 
is, what you are going to do the work on. Without something to work 
with and on, production would not be possible. 

In addition to having the material on hand to work on, it must be 
kept track of so that none is lost, handled properly to prevent 
damage, and controlled in quantity and movement to insure the proper 
supply at the right place and on time. 

Altho but few realize it, the losses and wastes in the handling and 
control of raw material and finished parts are among the principal 
causes of loss in the shop. Analysis of the conditions surrounding 
your work, such as you must use in working out this problem, is the 
first step in finding better methods which will decrease or eliminate 
this loss. Savings of several hundred dollars a year were made in 
one department alone, by installing better methods of handling which 
eliminated damage to a highly finished part. 

The problem this time deals with the methods of control, recording, 
and handling of a part or material with which you are familiar. 
Choose som e one piece, part , or a de finit e material which is handled 
in your department and c onsider it only in the solution of this prob¬ 
lem. Probably it would be better to limit your solution to the con¬ 
sideration of these questions as they relate to the one department 
with which you are connected. 














After reading the whole problem thru, and before you begin your solu 
tion, choose w hat definite part or mat erial you are going to con¬ 
sider in this problem. Give here its shop name or number as well as 
its descriptive name. 


If a part is chosen, of what is it made? (Iron, brass, wood, etc.) 


First—Explain the method of keeping track of the work (recording), 
so that none is lost, handling properly to prevent damage, and 
controlling in quantity and movement to insure the proper supply 
at the right place and on time as it affects this part or material 
in your department—including the forms on which the various records 
or instructions are made. 


< 

















Second—Make an analysis of the product, part, or material you have 
chosen for this problem and check which of the following factors 
actually app ly in your own work to the chosen product: 


(a) Characteristics of the prod¬ 
uct or material chosen which 

» 

must be considered in han¬ 
dling, recording, and con¬ 
trol. 

Check which apply. 

Delicate 

Fragile 

Finish 

Polished surface 

Plated 

Painted 

Rough 

Other finish 
Porosity (ability to ab¬ 
sorb moisture) 

Physical characteristics 
Liquid 
Granular 
Powdered 

Lumpy , 

Solid 

Perishable 

Valuable 

Other characteristics 
(list) 

(b) This is handled by: 

Hand 

Shop truck on wheels 

Elevating platform truck 

Conveyor 

Crane 

Hoist 

Monorail or trolley 
Magnet 

Shovel (hand or power) 

By other methods or equip¬ 
ment 


(c) This is handled in: 

Tote box 

Box, crate, or case 
Barrel 
Bucket 
Tank or vat 
Specially constructed 
container 

l Other containers 

Units used (dozen, bun¬ 
dle, pound, gallon, 
etc.) 

(d) Which of the following cause 
damage or loss, in handling or 
storing, to this article 
chosen: 

Dust 
Dry air 
Damp air 
Moisture 
Water 
Fire 

Temperature changes 

Sunlight 

Shock 

Theft 

Careless counting 
Careless handling 
Insecure piling 
Mixing with other parts 
quite similar but dif¬ 
ferent 

Obsolescence (get out of 
date) 

Scratch 

Mar 

Warp 

Crack or check 
Soil (get dirty) 

Tear 

Rust 

Spoil (decay) 

Other causes (list) 








Third—Since making this complete analysis of the method of handling, 
recording, and control of this piece or material you chose to 
follow thru, what suggestions ha/e you for making changes in the 
method you are now using? Look back over the items checked on the 
previous page—the causes and effects—and consider how each check 
affects the part or product you have chosen. Knowing the cause and 
effect will help suggest a method of overcoming the difficulty. 

(Some suggestions which you may wish to consider in the solution of 
this problem are: What changes you would make, if any, in the type 
of equipment used to move it, in the type of container used, in the 
method of placing in the container or in moving it, in the forms or 
records used to keep the stock records, and the method of keeping 
them.) 










THE FOREMAN as 
STOCKKEEPER 


THE NINTH WORK MANUAL 

MODERN FOREMANSHIP 

AND 

PRODUCTION METHODS 


Being the Expression of Practical Foremen 

Assembled, Organized, and Edited by 

HUGO DIEMER, MEYER BLOOMFIELD, DANIEL BLOOMFIELD, 
AND E. F. DAHM 

In Cooperation with Others 


LA SALLE EXTENSION UNIVERSITY 

n 

CHICAGO 


-9 


3jd. 


'f‘5 1 5 5 

.L-3 


Copyright, 1921 
All Rights Reserved 
LaSalle Extension University 


\ 



i. (tturt®- 

SfcP 26 1921 


©Cl A626446 

• / 1 


One of the earliest production snags recorded by his¬ 
tory was in connection with the supplying of materials. 
The ancient Egyptians in their brick yards refused to 
continue the regular supply of straw for brick and 
made the Israelites “scout up” their own straw. Some 
foremen who have to “scout up” the raw material or 
stock for production can appreciate the difficulties of 
the brick makers in ancient days. 

But getting a regular supply of raw materials is really 
not a part of a foreman’s job, altho many foremen find 
it necessary to devote altogether too large a propor¬ 
tion of their time to this kind of work. A foreman 
has enough to do to look after the material after it 
gets into his hands, to process it, and to send it on. 

This manual on “The Foreman as Stockkeeper” takes 
up not only the points you need to know about the 
general method of handling stores in a central store¬ 
room, but also the recording and control of this ma¬ 
terial after it gets into your hands. Production— 
getting the goods out, as explained in the last manual 
—is also closely linked with and dependent upon the 
effective and economical control of stock and tools. 
These important factors are explained and their use 
is made clear thru numerous forms and records. 


1 


THE MODERN FOREMANSHIP 
COUNCIL 


There are production managers, practicing foremen, 
executive officers, labor managers, and educators on 
this Foremanship Council. 

Tho from different walks of life, they have one strong 
tie binding them together—that is, their experience 
with and interest in the work of Modern Foremen. 

The Council reviews the course and lessons and serves 
in an advisory capacity. It brings to bear on the plan¬ 
ning, organization, presentation, and service of the 
Modern Foremanship and Production Methods Course 
the judgment of experts from all important points of 
view. In many minds there is increased wisdom and 
safety of judgment. 


2 


THE MODERN FOREMANSHIP COUNCIL 


Leroy Tabor, Tabor Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, 
Pa. 

George R. Townsend, Manager, International Steel and Ord¬ 
nance Company, Lowell, Mass. 

Richard A. Feiss, Vice President, Joseph & Feiss Company, 
Manager, Clothcraft Shops, Cleveland, Ohio 

J. L. Ackerson, Vice President, Merchant Shipbuilding Cor¬ 
poration, Philadelphia, Pa. 

J. M. Carmody, Production Manager, H. B. Black Company, 
Cleveland, Ohio 

F. C. Shafer, Factory Manager, Penberthy Injector Company, 
Detroit, Mich. 

Matthew Porosky, Chairman, Factory Management Commit¬ 
tee, Holtzer Cabot Company, Boston, Mass. 

S. Babcock, General Foreman, Power Plant, Westinghouse 
Electric and Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Boris Emmet, Labor Manager, Henry Sonneborn & Com¬ 
pany, Inc., Baltimore, Md. 

Allen B. Crow, Secretary, Society of Industrial Engineers, 
Detroit, Mich. 

B. E. Mallary, Foremanship Training, Board of Education, 
Cleveland, Ohio 

William Bethke, Educational Director, LaSalle Extension 
University 

E. F. Dahm, Assistant Educational Director, LaSalle Exten¬ 
sion University 

Meyer Bloomfield, Editor-in-Chief, Modern Foremanship 
and Production Methods Course; of Bloomfield & Bloom¬ 
field, Boston 

Daniel Bloomfield, Associate Editor, Modern Foremanship 
and Production Methods Course; of Bloomfield & Bloom¬ 
field, Boston 

Hugo Diemer, Director, Modern Foremanship and Produc¬ 
tion Methods Course 


3 


THE FIFTEEN WORK MANUALS 


of the Course in 
MODERN FOREMANSHIP 

and 

PRODUCTION METHODS 


I. The Foreman and His Job 

II. The Working Force 

III. Leadership 

IV. The Foreman and Training 

V. The Foreman and Job Analysis 

VI. The Flow of Work 

VII. A Good Place to Work 

VIII. Getting the Work Out 

IX. The Foreman as Stockkeeper 

X. Cost Control in the Shop 

XI. Industrial Organization 

XII. What Is Production and Why? 

XIII. Wages and Incentives 

XIV. The Foreman and the Law 

XV. The Foreman and Industrial Service 


4 



CONTENTS OF THIS MANUAL 

ON 

THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 

How stockkeeping helps the foreman in 

—getting out production 
—keeping down production costs 

What the central stores does for the foreman 
Records kept for his guidance 

Shop stores under the foreman’s direction 

Why he must keep records 
Nine kinds of shop stores 

The foreman—the business manager of the shop 




THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


“Delivering the goods” is an expressive bit of 
modern slang. The successful person is not 
necessarily he who theorizes or he who prom¬ 
ises—he is the man who delivers the goods, 
up to specifications and on time. 

Delivering the goods is so notably the fore¬ 
man’s job that, as every foreman of experience 
realizes, the duty rests on his shoulders to keep 
track of those goods all along the line, as they 
travel into his department and out again. 

Aladdin, by rubbing an old lamp, was able to 
build, out of thin air, palaces of the utmost 
gorgeousness. But the modern foreman doesn’t 
have Aladdin’s pull with the fairies. On the 
contrary, he must have material or he can’t 
deliver a product. If he does not get enough 
material, or if he fails to obtain the right kind 
or the right grade, or if some injury happens 
to that material in his department, he is out 
of luck. His machines may whir beautifully, 
and his workers may go thru all the motions 
of production, but he simply won’t deliver the 
goods. 


/ 


8 MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


Therefore, first of all, in order to get out his 
production satisfactorily, the wise foreman 
will give the subject of stockkeeping his care¬ 
ful study. 

But, to be specific, just how does material af¬ 
fect getting out production? In other words, 
how must the foreman keep track of his stock 
in order to get the work out? 

1. He must procure the stock to be used in 
production. In some businesses or kinds 
of industry the foreman may have to go 
on the open market and purchase the stock 
wanted. In most industries, however, the 
stock, where it has to be purchased, is pro¬ 
cured thru the purchasing department. In 
some businesses the foreman may have to 
go to this purchasing department direct 
and requisition from them the material to 
be purchased. It has been found a more 
efficient practice, however, to have a cen¬ 
tral stores department and to have the 
foreman go to this department in order to 
procure his materials. 

V 

2. In some concerns it is also the foreman’s 
job, after his material has arrived at or 
near the plant, to see to it that it is moved 
into his department or within easy reach 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


9 


of him when he wants to use it. More 
thoroly organized industries relieve the 
foreman of this duty and give the job of 
material moving to some other department 
such as the “move material gang” of the 
central stores department. However, the 
foreman must see that he has the material 
in his department when he is ready to 
work on it. 

3. The foreman must see that the right kind 
of material is on hand. 

4. He must see that it is of the proper quality. 

5. He must have the right amount. 

6. It must be properly stored while waiting 
in his department, before work is done 
on it. 

7. During the processing, care must be taken 
of it so that it will not be damaged or lost. 

8. The handling of the material during pro¬ 
cessing must be efficiently done so as not to 
slow up production. 

9. The finished material must be delivered on 
time; or, if it is to be stored for some time 
in the department before delivery, it should 



10 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


be protected against injury and should not 
occupy such space as to interfere with sub¬ 
sequent production. 

Thus it is seen that proper care of material— 
good stockkeeping, in other words—is a trump 
card in getting out production. 


Keeping Down Production Costs 

But getting out production isn’t all of the fore¬ 
man’s job. He must get out production at a 
profit. And here again the proper handling of 
the stock is of great importance. ^ 

Material costs money, in three ways: 

1. In the amount of capital it ties up until the 
finished product is sold and paid for. 

2. In the loss and waste of material during 
production. 

3. In the cost of carrying the material—stor¬ 
age, insurance, etc. 

Material May Tie Up Capital 

First, then, is the time cost. The longer money 
is tied up in material before it can be turned 

again into cash, the greater is the expense of 

/ 



THE FOREMAN AS STOREKEEPER 


11 


that material and the less the net profit which 
it is likely to bring to the company. 

For example, suppose you have had, on the 
average, $10,000 tied up in materials in your 
shop during the past year, when you could 
have done just as good work or better with 
only $4,000 worth of material on hand. What 
of that? You tied up $6,000 worth of good, 
hard money that your company is not getting 
one cent out of. What difference does that 
make? Just this, if you had been efficient, 
your company would have had $6,000 more to 
use than it actually did have. Maybe it was 
pushed for ready money many a time for 
which it had to pay high interest and commis¬ 
sion. Even at 6 per cent on the $6,000, it 
would be $360 ahead of the game. 

Besides profiting by this $360, the company 
would have used the storage space of the use¬ 
less material, either for other stores or for ad¬ 
ditional productive machinery. If the mate¬ 
rial was on the floor of the shop, its removal 
would be a distinct aid to production, and 
would save insurance, taxes, and losses on this 
unnecessary material. 

The best foremen are those who appreciate this 
basic fact—that the less money tied up in any 



V2 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


kind of materials or supplies, the better. 
(This of course should not be to the hindrance 
of good production.) 

Material May Be Wasted 

But an even greater chance for increasing 
costs lies in the damage and loss of the ma¬ 
terial itself. It is a notable fact that whereas 
a company’s ready cash is deposited in a bank 
and there surrounded with every safeguard, 
its raw and partly worked materials, perhaps 
worth several times the ready cash, may be 
subjected to careless handling and as a result 
may suffer great aggregate loss. 

Many a shop has its materials and supplies 
lying around the shop floor. Any time any 
man in the shop wants anything, he merely 
goes over to a pile of material, picks out what 
he wants, and goes merrily about his business. 
If a worker scraps a job, all he needs to do in 
such a shop is to pick up some more stock and 
start all over again, and very likely the fore¬ 
man is none the wiser. 

If any machinist in an unsupervised shop 
needs a piece of brass, he need only choose 
what he wants and walk out. And many an¬ 
other man, equally honest in other kinds of 
shops, also does this, because there is nothing 


v 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


13 


to impress on him the value of the goods. 
Thousands of dollars leave many shops in 
this way in a year’s time. 

But modern shops realize that material is 
money just as much as is ready cash. A dol¬ 
lar’s worth of steel, yarn, hides, tobacco, or 
any other product, is worth a dollar—it’s not 
merely material to be carelessly destroyed, 
mislaid, or carted away by some employe who 
needs it for an odd job at home, or for some 
more questionable purpose. 

Not only is it important that you keep a check 
on your material costs, but it is easier to do so 
than it is to check any other factor entering 
into production. It is not always easy to de¬ 
termine how much labor and how much over¬ 
head cost have entered into the cost of a fin¬ 
ished product, but almost every inch of the ma¬ 
terial can be accounted for. This is one reason 
why the efficient handling of materials gives 
satisfactory results. 

The Control of Material—Central Stores 

Before the days of big industries, when a man¬ 
ufacturing concern consisted of only one, two, 
or three shops, its “stores” (supplies, mate¬ 
rials, and tools) were usually kept in or near 
the shops where they were to be used, and were 



14 


MODERN FOREMAN SHIP 


largely under the control, in each case, of the 
foreman of the shop making use of them. 

But as industry grew into a complexity of 
many shops, it was found to be a wasteful and 
inefficient practice to ask every foreman to 
be entirely responsible for his own stores. For, 
not knowing what stores the other foremen 
had, each foreman, for his own protection, had 
a tendency to lay in more stores than he abso¬ 
lutely needed. 

To overcome this waste, the central stores de¬ 
partment was instituted. Its functions and 
advantages may be listed as follows: 

1. By keeping track of the stores for the 
whole plant, it makes it possible for the 
plant to work effectively without tying up 
so much capital in stores as is required 
where there is no central stores system. 

2. It makes scheduling possible. Without 
some sort of central stores system, which 
tells the scheduling department the de¬ 
tailed condition of the plant’s stores, effec¬ 
tive scheduling cannot be done. 

3. It enables the purchasing department to 
buy more advantageously. 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


15 


4. It relieves the foreman of work in connec¬ 
tion with stores which might have to take 
him outside his department. This work is 
of two kinds: 

(a) Where there is no central stores sys¬ 
tem, the foreman has to keep track 
of the stores he has ordered, in order 
that they may arrive in his depart¬ 
ment on time. There may be no one 
to worry over the arrival of his goods 
but him, and he may have to spend 
part of his time going to other de¬ 
partments or calling up the purchas¬ 
ing agent. The central stores de¬ 
partment relieves him of this worry. 

(b) Without a central stores department, 
the foreman may have to attend to 
getting the goods moved into his de¬ 
partment where he can use them. 
Central stores usually relieves him 
of this problem also, bringing the 
raw material into his shop for pro¬ 
cessing, and taking away the fin¬ 
ished product. 

An industrial concern may or may not have 
a “central storeroom” where are kept all the 
company’s stores that are not being worked 



16 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


on. In many concerns there is no such cen¬ 
tral storeroom, but the stores of the company 
are scattered about — in storage yards, in 
warehouses, in storage spaces thruout the 
building, and perhaps on the floors of the vari¬ 
ous shops. 

Yet a concern may have a central stores sys¬ 
tem, without a central storeroom. A central 
stores system means, essentially, a centralized 
control of the company’s stores, wherever they 
are situated, not necessarily a central store¬ 
room. 


Central Stores Records 

Of course, in order that the central stores de¬ 
partment may keep an efficient control over 
the company’s stores, it will have to keep some 
sort of records. No one man and no group of 
men can expect to carry in their heads a 
knowledge of just what is happening to each 
of tens of thousands of items in its movement 
thru the plant. 

“I’m no bookkeeper, and I never did get the 
hang of all this paper work,” one hard-headed 
foreman complained, as he looked over the 
many forms he was expected to use in connec¬ 
tion with his materials. 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


17 


The foreman’s attitude was natural enough. 
Foremen are primarily production men, not 
keepers of records, and we can all understand 
an unwillingness to do “paper work.” In 
fact, most successful foremen recommend that 
the foreman spend as little time as he con¬ 
sistently can over his records, and give most 
of his time and attention to the actual pro¬ 
duction of his shop. 

Why Central Stores Records Are Important 

But a successful foreman must know some¬ 
thing about stores records. Why? Because 
he has to get material on hand for his jobs, 
must watch the work and make records of it 
while it is in his shop, and must see that when 
it leaves it gets to the proper destination. A 
foreman most certainly need not be a “paper¬ 
work expert,” but he must know the essentials 
of the papers of his stores system. He must 
know how to use them; otherwise he is only 
inviting trouble. The chances are that with¬ 
out a working knowledge of them, there will 
be no end to his stockkeeping problems. 

First a brief description of the storekeeper’s 
records of his material in stock will be taken 
up. A close study of these will be well worth 
while. 



18 


MODERN FOREMAN SHIP 


Whoever has any stores or stock or material 
to keep track of will want to know, first of all, 
just how much he has of each article. This 
is true of you, the foreman, in keeping track 
of the materials in your own shop storeroom. 
It is also true of the central storekeeper, who 
must keep count of the stores of the entire 
factory. 



Fig. 1.—Every item carried in stock should have a bin tag kept where the 
material is stored. It should show the quantities received, quantities 
issued, order number against which they are charged, and the balance on 
hand. Like a lot of apparently simple management helps, you cannot 
run a shop successfully without them. 

The first step necessary, in order to keep a 
close count of each article, is to have a sepa¬ 
rate bin or rack or other proper receptacle 
for each article, and to keep every unit of that 
article in its proper place. 

The next step is to have a record attached to 
the bin, so that whenever units are taken out 






















THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


19 


of the bin, or new units put in, the change can 
be written on the record. 

The Bin Tag 1 or Record 

This record attached to the bin is known as 
the bin tag or bin record. Figure 1 shows a 
bin tag, and Fig. 2 represents a bin record. 
The latter is somewhat more detailed than the 


ARTIC 

IN 

BIN RECORD 

'IF. SYMROI 



OUT 

ON HAND 

ORDER 
APPLIED TO 

YOUR 

NAME 














































































r 









Fig. 2.—A bin record is usually a bit more elaborate than a bin tag, but 
that does not mean that it is any more important. It contains the same 
sort of information as the tag, but provides for a few more details, 
generally for the front office. 

former. Both are records to be kept by the 
workers whose job it is to put material into 
and take it out of the bins or other storage 
places; these are generally the stock boys and 
the move material men. 

Now notice that with both the bin tag and the 
bin record as shown, it is possible at any time 





























































20 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


to tell just by looking at the card how much 
of that article there is on hand in that bin, for 
in the column called “on hand,” or “balance,” 
is shown how many pieces are actually in the 
bin. 

“Perpetual Inventories” 

Any record that shows at all times how much 
of a given article is on hand or available, is 
called a perpetual inventory. Therefore both 
the bin tag and the bin record are perpetual 
inventories. 

Since in your own shop storeroom you prob¬ 
ably have a bin tag or record attached to every 
bin or other storage receptacle, your men are 
keeping a perpetual inventory of each article 
if they are faithfully recording on the tags 
what they are putting in or taking out of the 
bins, and what “balance” they have “on hand” 
each time. 

Now, while the bin tag and bin record here 
shown allow you to keep perpetual inventories, 
yet they are the simplest kind of records and 
do not have space for putting down all the 
facts that have to be recorded. Naturally, a 
stock boy is not expected to keep elaborate rec¬ 
ords, nor is it necessary that your department 




THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


21 


have these elaborate records. But the central 
stores department must have considerable in¬ 
formation about each article; therefore it uses 
a more elaborate perpetual inventory form, 
called the “balance of stores” record. 

Balance of Stores Record 

Since the foreman may frequently have occa¬ 
sion to go to this record in order to see what 
materials are available, it will be well to de¬ 
scribe the form shown in Fig. 3. It is a com¬ 
mon form in all well-managed plants, and a 
brief description of it will explain the essen¬ 
tial features of all such balance of stores rec¬ 
ords, or as often termed, stores records, stores 
ledgers, stores balance books, etc. 

Notice, in the first place, that the record con¬ 
sists of a sheet of paper given over entirely to 
keeping track of one kind of article only, in 
this case, say, white paint, grade X. 

Notice next that the record consists of four 
big main columns entitled “Ordered,” “On 
Hand,” “Available,” and “Reserved.” 

The basic idea of this form is to show, for ex¬ 
ample, how your white paint supply stands in 
regard to these four matters at all times. 




22 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


There is nothing complicated about it. The 
explanation will give you a good understand¬ 
ing of its purposes and how to operate it. The 
statement below shows the standing for two 
days. 


June 1 June 3 
100 Gal. 0 
0 80 

0 60 

0 20 


Ordered 
On Hand 
Available 
Reserved 


“Ordered” column 

Add the quantity ordered to the previous total 
of this column when any new order is placed. 
Subtract the amount received when any ship¬ 
ment is received. 

“On Hand” column 

Add the amount received when any shipment 
is received. Subtract any issues to the shops. 

« 

“Reserved” and “Available” columns 

These two columns, as the headings indicate, 
show the amount kept in reserve for special and 
important jobs, and the remainder, the quan¬ 
tity available for any other job that may come 
along. 


The sum of these two columns must equal the 
amount shown in the “On Hand” column. 








Q 

« 

O 

o 

w 

« 

w 

w 

« 

o 

H 

50 

hJ 

< 

« 

H 

2 

W 

u 

< 

u 

HH 

A. 

> 

H 

< 


Fig. 3.—Do not allow any of the details of this form, such as its shape, or the number of columns, or the names 
by which it identifies certain types of material, to overshadow the all-important fact that what you are after is 
the underlying principles behind a central stores system—in other words, the reasons why and the methods by 
which you should and can account for material exactly as a cashier accounts for money. Details apply only to 

"some” factories, but underlying principles apply to all. 






























































24 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


Besides the records just described, there are 
other classes of records used by the central 
stores department and the foreman. These 
are the “slips” or “forms” of many kinds and 
colors of paper, of which the foreman keeps 
a supply in his own shop office, and which he 
fills out whenever he gets any material from 
or returns anything to central stores. It will 
be well to describe these briefly at this time. 

These forms, by the way, are worded as if the 
central storekeeper had written them. For 
example, a “materials received” slip means 
that the storekeeper received the goods de¬ 
scribed on the slip, while some foreman, of 
course, delivered the goods to him. 

Let us group these forms under a few main 
heads. 

First of all, the foreman wants to get mate¬ 
rials out of stores to use in a production job. 
So he makes out a slip (or form or ticket) 
called a “stores issue,” and takes or sends this 
to the storekeeper. (See Fig. 4.) 

In cases of planned and scheduled jobs, this 
stores issue is made out by the planning de¬ 
partment. One copy of this stores issue is 
sent to the storekeeper, and a duplicate goes 


i 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


25 


to the foreman to let him know what he will 
receive. 


But there are also occasions when the foreman 
makes out his own stores issue. 

Usually only one article is asked for on each 
stores issue slip. If the foreman wants two 
different articles, he makes out two slips. 



Location 

MW a 4 

Room 

K»t j Bin 


BILL OF MATERIAL of Article# for tiie Mointettace of the HomiiACturiag 
and ISSUE GAEL , Inc l udi n g Shop Consumption or Expenditure. 


Quantity 


Price 
Pet .. 


ri ^J Q 

■Cm 


Stock Material Symbol 




Total Value 


X^eeorlption of Ax*tiole 


Transfer No. 


ISSUE above stock to ____Shop to be worked upon or used. 

Deliver %t, by o'clock to-morrow. Signed 


Month Day 


I 


Year 


Approved 


Issued.... Received_ 


Entered on || | 

8 M. Account 

Tag 

Balance of 
Stores Sheet 

Sub Order Monthly Exp * A . 

Caid ^ Card Charged 

—JjL J - 1 


I Sub Order 


(OVKR) 


Fig. 4 ._Here is the Issue Card, or Bill of Materials, which is filled out 

every time a job goes thru an eastern factory. Without such an order 
properly filled out, it would be as impossible for any of the men at that 
factory to get the material as it would for one of your men to get his pay 
at the bank without presenting his pay check. 


However, “group issue” slips are used in some 
cases in which a number of different articles 
are asked for on one slip. (See Fig, 5.) 

A stores issue is sometimes called a “requisi¬ 
tion.” In other cases it is known as a “with- 
























































GROUPING REQUISITIONS ON ONE SLIP 

Fig. 5.—Do not mistake the form of this group stores issue slip for the method behind it. You may be using one 
which answers the purpose equally as well, but looks entirely different. The main thing is to have some standardized 
method of requisitioning group material on one slip instead of making out a separate one for each item. What form 

it takes is immaterial just so it “does the business.” 































































THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


27 


drawal” slip, a “bill of material,” or a “mate¬ 
rial ticket.” In every case it refers to a piece 
of paper demanding that the storekeeper turn 
something over to a foreman. 

In the second place, when the material called 
for arrives in the foreman’s shop from the 
central stores, each article or lot of articles 
may have an “identification tag” (also called 
a “shop tag,” or “tracing tag”) attached to it. 
This tag in its simplest form does nothing 
more than name the article. In some plants, 
however, the identification tag may contain 
full directions as to all operations to be per¬ 
formed on the material, by all the departments 
concerned. This information constitutes the 
routing of the order. 

A tag arranged to contain this routing infor¬ 
mation is shown in Fig. 6. 

In the third place, it is possible that more ma¬ 
terial has been issued to a foreman than he 
needs for his job, in which case he returns the 
part not needed. In this case he makes out 
a “credit” slip, which he sends in to the store¬ 
keeper with the returned materials. The store¬ 
keeper receives the materials and credits the 
foreman for the goods returned. A credit slip 
is very similar to the stores issue (Fig. 4) ex- 



28 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


cept as to the word “credit” instead of “issue” 
in the title. 


Notice that in order to get a credit slip, the 
foreman must return the material in the same 

condition in which he received it. If he does 

\ 


jRil 



mark no. Drawing no. Pattern no. 

SHOP 

RECEIVED 

NO. 

SCRAPPED 

NO. 

GOOD 

PIECES 

FORWARDED 

BY 

NO. 

BY 














( 1 
Order No 

Batch Nc 

Descrjptioi 


























Fig. 6.—In some shops this tag is called aa "identification tag,” in others 
a "shop tag,” while in many other shops it is referred to as a “tracing tag.” 
Call it by any name you wish to, just so long as it lists the necessary 
routing information for each piece of material. 

work on it before returning it, he has added a 
value to it, and therefore it must be put in a 
different class of stores from the class from 
which it came. He then gets a delivery re¬ 
ceipt, but not a credit slip. In like manner 
if he has spoiled some of the material and re¬ 
turns it as scrap, he gets a “scrap credit” of 
some kind but not a “stores credit.” 

In the fourth place, it may happen that the 
foreman or storekeeper, having material for 
use on one job, later finds it advisable to use 





























THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


29 


this material on another job. In this case, he 
usually makes out a “transfer” slip indicating 
the change made. This slip credits the job or 
stores that the material is taken away from, 
and charges the job or stores to which it is 
given. Figure 7 shows a form used by a 
storekeeper in making such a transfer. The 
shop form is practically a duplicate. 

In the fifth place, the foreman finally finishes 
the job on which he is working, and either 
sends it on to the next shop, or, if his is the 
last shop working on it, he sends it to stores. 

When the foreman sends the work on to an¬ 
other shop, he usually informs the production 
department or the planning department that 
he has finished the job. 

At the same time, when the foreman turns 
work over to another shop, it is usually con¬ 
sidered good practice for him to get a receipt 
for the goods from the shop to which he has 
sent it or from the trucker who takes it. This 
receipt is often called a move ticket. 

When, however, the foreman sends his finished 
work into central stores, the storekeeper gives 
him a “received” slip, on which he acknowl¬ 
edges that he has received back the worked 
material. (See Fig. 9.) 



30 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


These classes of forms, therefore,—stores is¬ 
sues, shop tags, credits, transfers, information 
that material has moved, and receipts from 


Charge 

Order No. 

Work in Process 

Transfer 

Credit 

Order No. 

Location 

Date 




Description. 


Reason- 


Transferred 


Quantity 


Unit 


Price per Unit 


Total Value 


Schedule 

Changed 


Priced 


Charge 


Credit 


Written by 
Approved by 
Date 


Fig. 7.—Conditions may arise at any time which make it necessary to 
switch material requisitioned for one job onto another. In that case, a 
transfer slip such as the above should be used, otherwise the costs records 
will be inaccurate. The costsi on at least two jobs are always affected in 

such an operation. 

storekeeper — include the important forms 
used in connection with material passing be¬ 
tween storekeeper and foreman, from job to 
job within a shop, and from shop to shop. 





























31 


THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


The Relation of Shop Stores to Central Stores 

The last few pages have been dealing mostly 
with central stores, and with some of the rec¬ 
ords kept by the central stores department. 


MATERIAL MOVE TICKET ORDER 

SYMBOL No. 

Shop Symbol Shop Symbol 

FROM TO 

Description 

Quantity 

Unit 








Total Value 



Sent by Date Rec’d by Date 


Fig. 8.—Whenever a foreman has completed his work on a job and 
turned it over to another department, he generally gets a receipt signed 
by someone authorized to receive it. This Move Ticket suggests some of 
the information such a receipt should contain. No doubt there is a 

suggestion here for you. 

The foreman is interested in central stores, 
because they are the source from which he gets 
his materials. But he is more interested in 
“shop stores,” which are generally located 
right in his own shop. 


















32 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


A central storeroom and centralized stores are 
a necessity in most plants, but it is up to you, 
as the business manager of your shop, to con¬ 
sider what that shop needs in the way of 
stores. You know best what raw materials 
get their first operations done in your depart¬ 
ment, and it is one of your duties to keep a 
sufficient supply of them on hand so that you 
can keep your normal number of men and ma¬ 
chines busy and plan your work about a week 
ahead. And the best place for this temporary 
supply of materials is in a definite place in 
your shop, and not in central stores. 

Some establishments make a practice of “allot¬ 
ting” materials on the paper records of cen¬ 
tral stores, and putting them into “reserva¬ 
tion bins” or “allotment bins” in the same 
central storeroom. The disadvantage of the 
scheme is that the foreman does not have this 
material within his sight and under his con¬ 
trol ; and there is the temptation for the fore¬ 
men of the different departments, when they 
are in pressing need of certain supplies, to 
requisition the first that come to hand without 
stopping to find out if they are being reserved 
for someone else. 

A greater local control over his stores enables 
the foreman to keep stores in better order. He 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


33 


is better off with them under his own eye than 
he would be if he had to go to a central store¬ 
room and look thru reams of paper covered 
with figures and mysterious symbols which 
may be clear enough to the stockkeeper, but 
are slow reading to one unfamiliar with them. 


WORKED MATERIALS SYMBOL 


WORKED MATERIALS 

RECEIVED 

FROM PRODUCTION ORDERS COPY 1 


QUANTITY CALLED 
poa on onoir 

OUANTITY 
PRIVIOUdt DENT 

QUANTITY BENT 
HEREWITH 

TOTAL QUANTITY 
• ENT TO DATE 
(iMCLUDINO *) 

l 

2 

3» 

A 


ORDER NO. 


DESCRIPTION 


ACCEPTED 


SENT FROM 


STOREROOM 


APPROVED 


DATE 

APPROVED 


DATE REC'D (STAMP) 


NOTICE TO I 


RITERi USE ONLY SPACE BETWEEN HEAVY LINES 


INSPECTED 


LOCATION 


COST CHTCBED 
ON COST SHEET 

COST OIV. 

COST ENTEHEO 

DOES 

THIS COMPLETE THE ORDER ? 



YES 

signed by man deciding 




NO 



ALL WORKED MATERIALS (FROM 
PRODUCTION ORDERS) MUST RE 
DELIVERED TO THE STOREROOM 
ACCOMPANIED BT THIS FORM 


Fig. 9.—This form is made out in triplicate by foremen in one plant when¬ 
ever they turn over finished parts to the central stores. After the store¬ 
keeper has signed them, he keeps one himself, sends one to the planning 
department, and returns the original to the foreman. They are not auto¬ 
matic trouble solvers, however. Care and thought must be exercised in 

filling them out. 


Still another advantage of the local stock 
places in every shop is that they make it pos¬ 
sible to arrange for the diverting of some ma¬ 
terial allotments from one order to another. 
The necessity for doing this is likely to arise 
at any moment. The most farsighted person 
















































34 


MODERN FOREMAN SHIP 


on schedules cannot foresee emergencies with 
100 per cent accuracy. If material is on res¬ 
ervation or allotment in central stores instead 
of in your own shop, the storekeeper is quite 
likely to object, “This material has been al¬ 
lotted to Order 1,000, and you can’t use it on 
Order 1,001.” An argument is started, and 
you may find it necessary to refer the matter 
on up the line, expending valuable time and 
energy before you are authorized to do what 
you knew to begin with was the proper thing 
in such an emergency. If the material is in 
your own shop, you are free to phone the su¬ 
perintendent or planning department, “I’ve 
got to get out Order 1,001 to-day, and the best 
thing for me to do is to transfer this material 
from Order 1,000 to 1,001 and let the paper 
work take care of the transfer”; which is the 
obvious and sensible thing to do, of course. 

In other words, there is a noticeable value, 
from a production viewpoint, in the foreman’s 
having in his own shop a place for all the raw 
materials on which he does the first operation. 

This means that while central stores control 
is excellent, especially in its effect on schedul¬ 
ing and on costs, yet it is still necessary, for 
the purposes of good production, to give the 
foreman a large control over those stores upon 


i 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


35 


which his department is expected to work 
within the next week or so. 

When, in the past, progressive foremen began 
a more careful study of the stores in their de¬ 
partments, with the purpose of discovering 
how they might improve production and cut 
down costs thru a more effective handling of 
them, they came to realize that these stores 
are of several kinds, and that each kind may 
require separate treatment, especially in the 
matter of records. 

Kinds of Shop Stores 

Altogether there are nine kinds of shop stores. 
Not every shop will necessarily use all the nine 
kinds, which are as follows: 

1. Supplies 

2. Equipment 

3. Tools (Portable and Perishable) 

4. Raw Materials 

5. Material in Process 

6. Partly Worked Stored Material 

7. Finished Material 

8. Sub-assembly and Assembly Stores 

9. Finished Products 

We shall say more in this manual about each 
of these kinds of shop stores. Before we do 



36 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


so, however, it will be well to take up a little 
more fully the matter of the proper methods 
of use of records in connection with shop 
stores. 


Keeping Track of Expected Materials 

Among other things, the foreman must know 
and keep himself reminded of the fact that on 
a certain date certain material is expected to 
enter his shop, in plenty of time to allow his 
men and machines to start work on it. 

And in order that the foreman may know and 
keep himself reminded of this fact, two things 
are necessary. 

First a material plan or material list must be 
made out by the planning or production de¬ 
partment and sent to the foreman in order 
that he may know just what materials are ex¬ 
pected to come into his shop to be worked on in 
connection with a certain job. This material 
list is also called a “bill of material. ,, It may 
even take the form of a copy of the “group 
stores issue” already mentioned in this man¬ 
ual, or it can be a set of duplicate copies of 
the individual stores issue slips, already men¬ 
tioned. 

In order that all preparations in the way of 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


37 


materials and supplies may be provided at the 
right time and in the right place, it is desira¬ 
ble to have the material plans accompanied by 
complete specifications for supplies, tools, and 
fixtures. 

Second, there must be a tickler file (also called 
a “preparation file”) which the foreman keeps 
in his department, and into which he puts the 
material list under a certain future date, so 
that when that date arrives, he becomes re¬ 
minded of that material and begins to look 
after it. If the material plans are on large 
sheets of paper, the best kind of tickler file 
will be an ordinary vertical letter file with a 
guide for each day of the month and a folder 
between each guide to hold that part of the 
material plans which needs to be checked up 
on the given date. If it develops that the date 
of beginning must be changed by reason of 
lack of material, the material plan is put under 
the new date. 

This means that the tickler or preparation file 
needs to be consulted daily, and such follow¬ 
up should be made on the anticipated arrivals 
or completion of materials, supplies, tools, fix¬ 
tures, etc., as will enable the foreman to 
change his schedule dates if he finds that there 
are likely to be interferences with the schedule. 



38 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


In order that interferences may be systemat¬ 
ically followed up, it is desirable to use a form 
known as an interference slip, which is best 
made out in four copies, one slip being at¬ 
tached to the order that has been interfered 
with, another being kept in a tickler file, the 
third going to the department responsible for 
the delay, and the fourth to the central plan¬ 
ning or production department. (See Fig. 10.) 

Other Shop Records 

Besides the records just mentioned, there are 
a number of other shop records and forms, 
some of which are shown in this manual. We 
advise you not to attempt to study these rec¬ 
ords in detail, but only to get the essentials. 
Later, in connection with a more careful study 
of the paper work of your department, you 
may want to study these forms more carefully. 

We can now discuss the nine different kinds 
of stores which the foreman handles in his 
shop. These are referred to on page 35. 

I—Supplies 

Supplies are usually understood to be those 
items which, while being used in production, 
do not become part of the product. Cotton 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


39 


waste and sandpaper are examples. Some 
establishments also include in supplies certain 
small purchased items that enter into the 
product, such as nails, screws, etc., but these 
are not supplies in the stricter sense. 



Fig. 10.—When something occurs to interfere with your schedule, it is far 
better to face the music and put the blame where it belongs by filling out 
a slip like this and passing it along than to fall back on excuses which 
require no time to make up but a lot of explaining to defend. In this case 
it pays to “tell your troubles” to the other fellow. 

In order to handle his supplies right, the fore¬ 
man will do well to make a list of all the sup¬ 
plies needed in his shop (with the quality and 
amount of each) and to institute a regular in¬ 
spection of his supplies on hand so as to keep 
his stock properly replenished. 

This inspection should not be confined to sup¬ 
plies in his storeroom. He should also know 





























40 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


how good service the supplies are giving on 
the job. For example, where belting is in¬ 
cluded among his supplies, a regular inspec¬ 
tion of the belts in use in his department is 
necessary, in order to make sure that they 
are transmitting their full quota of power. 

II—Equipment 

Strictly speaking, equipment is not considered 
as a part of shop stores. However, in many 
establishments it is so regarded, especially 
that part of the equipment known as fixtures. 

Listing Machinery, Equipment, and Fixtures 

Every foreman should have a list of all the 
machines in his shop, together with a list of 
equipment and fixtures that go with each ma¬ 
chine or that are interchangeable. These ad¬ 
justments or fixtures, such as chucks or face 
plates for lathes, ought not to be scattered 
over the floor or kept under the machine. Each 
adjustment or fixture should have its own defi¬ 
nite place in a cage set aside for the purpose 
of storing these things. Face plates or chucks 
are usuaWy set on edge in the section of a bin 
which is on a level with the floor. Sheet metal 
or wooden partitions divide the lowest bin 
section into high and narrow compartments 
suitable for storing these chucks or face plates. 




THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


41 


The care of equipment has so much in common 
with the care of tools that further discussion 
need not be gone into here. 

Ill—Tools 

By “tools” in this case we mean, of course, 
portable and perishable tools, and not the more 
substantial and durable machine tools which 
we have already listed under equipment. 

Tools and equipment are strictly not a part of 
stores, but it is generally found practicable to 
list them with stores, since they offer the fore¬ 
man about the same problems in caring for 
them that the other stores do. 

Checking Up Tool Equipment 

Good business requires that the tools and 
equipment in any shop be both adequate and 
economical. If a foreman is so thoughtless as 
to provide an over-large supply of tools, he 
will tie up too much money and reduce his com¬ 
pany’s profits. On the other hand, if he has 
not enough tools, or has poor tools, so that the 
men waste time in waiting while these tools 
are being made or re-ground, he is running 
up the cost of production unnecessarily. It is 
therefore necessary that the tools required be 
checked up against the plan of work for every 




42 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


order in the same way that the material for 
that order is checked up. 

It is a good thing to maintain a file of tool lists 
pertaining to standard production. This file 
will have guides by names or symbols of prod¬ 
ucts, and between these guides will be the lists 
giving the names of all tools required for that 
product, together with the regular location 
of these tools in the tool crib. A tool list is 
shown in the eighth manual. 

Good Tool Room Practice 

Many modern shops have gone far toward in¬ 
creasing the efficiency of their tool rooms by 
taking the following steps: 

1. A special tool room and a special supply 
room are set up. 

2. Only standardized tools, holders, etc., are 
used, in order to attain interchangeability 
where possible. 

3. Workmen are given only good tools, equip¬ 
ment, and supplies. 

The modern shop recognizes the importance of 
using standard tools, and provides that these 
tools be in perfect condition when they are 
handed to the workman. Figure 11 shows one 
of many tool rooms equipped with grinders for 
small tools. The man in charge of the tool crib 




TELLTALE EVIDENCE OF EFFICIENCY 

Fig. 11.—Not only is orderliness one of the first commandments of shop efficiency, but it (or the 
lack of it) is very often a quick and sure index to how a shop is being managed. Nine’times out of ten 
the foreman who sees to it that his tool room is always in shipshape order as this one is, also has a 

high batting average for departmental efficiency. 


























a 















THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


43 


ought to be familiar with the tools, the purpose 
for which they are used, and their condition. 

It is his business, as soon as a job is finished, 
to inspect all the tools turned in and see that 
they are put in proper condition for their next 
use. 

4. Tools are carried to the workman in many 
instances. 

5. Portable repair outfits are often kept in 
readiness to assist in rapid repairs. 

6. A close check on tools must be kept as a 
matter of control so that none are mislaid. 

One very good checking system consists of the 
employes’ brass checks marked in sets of the 
same number. A number is assigned to each 
employe to whom tools are to be issued. This 
number may or may not be identical with that 
employe’s check number. 

In addition to these solid brass discs, it is ad¬ 
visable to have round, metal-bound, cardboard 
tags or discs with insertible white paper cen¬ 
ters. On this paper or cardboard center the 
name of the tool is written. 

A check rack or board is provided hanging near 
to the issue window on the inside of the tool 
cage. This board is provided with rows of 
hooks labeled to represent preparation shops, 
such as forge shop, heat-treating shop, machine 
shop, etc. 




44 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


Another board, known as the tool board, should 
be provided. On it should be rows of hooks 
labeled to represent each style of tool. 

There should also be a set of small pockets or 
drawers. The pocket for the brass checks should 
be labeled with the number of the check and the 
employe’s name. 

When an employe wishes to obtain a tool, he will 
be handed a tool loan card on which he indi¬ 
cates the symbol of the tool, the date, and his 
signature. The tool cage attendant then places 
this loan card in the pocket or drawer repre¬ 
senting that man’s number. He removes a brass 
check stamped with this number and then re¬ 
moves one of the paper-centered tool checks cor¬ 
responding to the tool wanted and puts in its 
place the brass check which he removed from 
the man’s check box. The paper-centered tool 
check he will then hang on the hook represent¬ 
ing the machine or bench to which the tool is 
being sent. 

When the tool is returned, the procedure is re¬ 
versed. The paper-centered tool check is re¬ 
moved from the hook representing the machine 
or bench to which it was issued. The brass 
check is removed from the hook in the tool room, 
and the tool check is hung in its place. The 
brass check will then be returned to the man’s 
check box and the tool loan card removed. The 
tool cage attendant will write “return” across 
the tool loan card, enter the date returned, sign 
his initials, and return it to the man as a re- 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 45 


ceipt for the tool. This method serves to check 
up each stage of the withdrawal and return of 
a tool, and protects the workman and the tool 
room attendant in case of any dispute. 

When a tool is sent out for repairs, a colored 
paper center can be used for the tool check. 
This is then hung on the tool rack on the par¬ 
ticular hook corresponding to that style of tool. 
The regular tool check with white paper center 
is then hung on the hook of the preparation 
shop which is to do the repairs or make the 
preparations. 


IV—Raw Materials 

i 

By raw materials are meant the materials in 

the condition in which thev first come into a 

«/ 

shop, before that shop has done any work on 
them. Of course it is generally the case that 
somebody somewhere has already done work 
on them. For example, flour coming to the 
bakery is raw material for that bakery, altho 
the flour has already gone thru several proc¬ 
esses. Castings delivered from the foundry 
to a machine shop for certain machining oper¬ 
ations are raw material for the machine shop, 
tho they left the foundry as finished mate¬ 
rial. 

But there is another qualification that raw 
materials have. They are the materials sent 
into a department and stored in that depart- 



46 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


merit until it is ready to start operations on 
them. 

It is clear to be seen that not all departments 
use raw materials in this sense of the term. 
Where materials are sent into a department 
and work is begun on them immediately, they 
are more properly considered not as raw ma¬ 
terials but as materials in process, and these 
we shall take up later. 

Raw materials, then, are materials to be pro¬ 
cured from the central stores or from the pur¬ 
chasing agent, and put for a while in storage 
in the foreman's department until he can be¬ 
gin work on them. 

In connection with these raw materials, the 
foreman is concerned with two matters: 

1. Getting the material from central stores. 

(Discussed on page 24) 

2. Storing it properly. 

Proper Storing of Raw Materials—Need 
of Storage Space 

The old maxim, “a place for everything, and 
everything in its place," is peculiarly applica¬ 
ble to stored raw material. If material is 




THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


47 


brought into your department, there to wait 
several days before operation is begun on it, 
and if this material is dumped and piled pro¬ 
miscuously on the floor, then there is a likeli¬ 
hood that you will lose track of some impor¬ 
tant part of it. 

The proper way out of the difficulty is the use 
of a stockroom or its equivalent in some well- 
marked-off space given over to storage. 

The Lot Room 

In some industries it is found advisable to 
have two rooms for this purpose, one given 
over to the storage of raw materials, and the 
other—called the “lot room”— one in which 
the material is more definitely identified with 
certain jobs, by being collected in definite lots. 
In this lot room it is often arranged to hold 
not only lots of materials which have had op¬ 
erations done in other departments, but also 
materials taken from your own raw materials 
stores, as you have these materials tagged up 
or put into tote boxes or tote barrels with la¬ 
bels, or in any other way made ready to issue 
for the first operations in your shop. 

Handy Arrangement of Stock 

Now let us consider the stock-room arrange¬ 
ment. It is important that the heavy mate- 



48 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


rials be placed nearest the ground, and that the 
quickest changing items be the most accessi¬ 
ble. Wire grillwork, pressed steel shelving, 
pressed steel tote boxes or barrels, with barrel 
trucks for barrels and elevating trucks for the 
boxes, are desirable. 

If objections are made to the cost of the wire 
grillwork and pressed steel fixtures, wooden 
makeshifts may be substituted, but the fire 
hazards and the wear and tear will be greater 
on these. 

Where the material is heavy or bulky, shelv¬ 
ing or racks cannot be used. Coils of rope, 
rolls of paper, bolts of cloth, heavy bales of 
cotton or wool, heavy castings or partly as¬ 
sembled heavy machinery, are of course piled 
directly on the flooring or ground. Care must 
be taken to provide plenty of trucking and 
handling space. The space required for this 
purpose depends chiefly on the bulk and weight 
of material, the ventilation required, and the 
type of truck. 


Avoid Overloading 

It is poor economy to put too great a strain on 
floors, shelves, racks, tanks, or boxes. Some¬ 
times, as in the case of liquids, the breakdown 
of the storage receptacle results in almost a 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


49 


total loss of the material. Sometimes material 
becomes broken, scattered, and soiled, owing 
to the overloading of bins and racks. In any 
event, every accident due to putting too great 
a weight or strain on storage members adds 
to the storage cost by necessitating rehan¬ 
dling. 

Many companies lose thousands of dollars 
yearly thru deterioration of stores. They buy 
rubber gloves, for example, and place them 
in a bin. Part of them are used. A new ship¬ 
ment comes in. The storekeeper dumps the 
new lot in on top of the old. What happens? 
It may be a year before the first goods are 
taken out to be used, and in that time they 
have become useless. 

Many a shop gets around this by a “double 
bin” system. That is, the old lot is kept sepa¬ 
rate and is used up before the new lot is 
touched. The army ordnance and quarter¬ 
master’s department have very definite meth¬ 
ods of procedure in this sort of stores han¬ 
dling. 


Exposure 

Materials while in shop stores may become in¬ 
jured thru exposure to weather, steam, dust, 



50 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


fumes, and rays of light. Therefore it be¬ 
comes part of the foreman’s duty, in order 
that his production may not suffer and his 
costs may not be increased, to see that his raw 
materials are properly housed against the 
weather, painted or oiled to prevent rust, 
covered against dust, placed in containers to 
guard against fumes, and kept in a dark place 
if light is injurious to them. 

Suppose you put bolts of colored cloth near a 
strong light. You can expect the side near 
the light to bleach. You can expect rubber 
goods to rot in such a situation. 

Dripping oil is responsible for much loss in 
many kinds of stores. A few drops on a bolt 
of cloth will perhaps cause the spoilage of the 
whole bolt. 

Up in New England a large garment factory 
recently had an example of the effect of expo¬ 
sure. During a severe week-end storm, water 
dripped thru a leaky roof onto several large 
lots of expensive findings cut to size and 
ready to be shipped to stores. The damage 
came to light the following Monday morning. 
The entire lot became thoroly watersoaked and 
absolutely useless. The company lost hun¬ 
dreds of dollars on account of that incident. 




THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


51 


Too great heat or too great cold may work 
great damage to some raw materials, espe¬ 
cially to certain kinds of foodstuffs. The 
proper handling of such stores, therefore, ne¬ 
cessitates watching the temperature of the 
shop or storage place, and seeing to it that the 
temperature is kept within the proper range. 

Packing houses waste no time in getting meats 
into the coolers. Canneries hurry their work 
in the same way, to prevent vegetables (or 
meats or fish) from spoiling. 

In rubber manufacture, heat is a very impor¬ 
tant factor. Too much heat can ruin a batch 
of work very easily. 

On the other hand, in storing certain types of 
material considerable heat may be desirable— 
for example, in the storage of crucibles. These 
are preferably stored in hot, dry places. 

Contamination 

Foodstuffs, too, are liable to spoilage owing 
to the presence of bacteria, ferments, and 
molds. Where the foreman has to store such 
material, proper handling of course demands 
that all containers be cleaned and sterilized 
before receiving the contents. 



52 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


Liability to contamination is not confined to 
foodstuffs. It is possible to render impure cer¬ 
tain chemicals by storing them in receptacles 
which have not been thoroly cleaned. 

One large manufacturer of brass cartridges 
takes great care to see that no particle of lead 
is included in casting the brass ingots. A very 
small percentage of lead ruins the brass by 
robbing it of its tensile strength. Such brass 
will not stand the strains occurring when the 
cartridge is fired. Fatal accidents may re¬ 
sult. Here is a feature of material care that 
is very much up to the foremen. 

Fire Risks 

Many a costly fire has started in material 
stored in shops awaiting processing. Often 
the fire risk is greater among shop stores than 
in the central storeroom, because in the lat¬ 
ter case the danger is realized and guarded 
against, while the shop stores, set aside only 
temporarily and being in close contact with 
the men at work, are often left wholly unpro¬ 
tected. 

The foreman is not taking due care of his raw 
materials unless he keeps down the danger of 
fire in connection with them. The smoking of 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


53 


employes around inflammable material, the 
danger of spontaneous combustion in connec¬ 
tion with oily waste, and other possible fire 
causes should be watched for and prevented. 

Theft and Other Loss 

The experienced foreman never overlooks the 
facts of human nature. He realizes that val¬ 
uable material lying about unprotected is 
likely to be taken by persons who will derive 
a personal advantage from taking it. 

Usually when material is taken from shop 
stores in this manner, it is carried away in 
driblets so that no one loss is likely to be no¬ 
ticed. 

It is a wise policy for the foreman not to take 
too much for granted as to the condition of his 
stores. He will not even take the central store¬ 
keeper’s word for it, but will have counted 
every batch of material that comes to his shop. 
He will take proper means to guard this ma¬ 
terial against pilfering for outside uses, and 
he will frequently have it counted and checked 
against its record. In this way, he will be able 
to detect any losses soon after they occur. 

While raw material is not so likely to be pil¬ 
fered as material near the finished state, yet 



54 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


the aggregate loss of material all along the line 
is estimated to be very great. It is felt that 
much of this tendency on the part of workers 
to take material is due to their failure to real¬ 
ize the values of what they are appropriating. 
A person who would revolt against the idea 
of taking the company’s money may, without 
hesitating, pick up and carry away a piece of 
worked material of considerable value, owing 
to his failure to realize all the value that has 
been put into it. Foremen who have im¬ 
pressed their men with the cost that has gone 
into the materials that come into their shops 
have often been able to cut down these losses. 

Simple Shop-Cage Records 

The only record that needs to be kept for each 
shop cage is the bin tag or ticket, which is 
usually to be found in a sheet metal or wooden 
holder fastened onto the rack, boxes, or drawer 
containing the material in question. When 
the material consists of piles of lumber or 
similar bulky articles, a number of tags may 
be put into a single box attached to the next 
column. When the material is for stock of 
steel, wrought iron, brass, or tubing, the tags 
are kept in holders fastened to the racks. 

Figures 1 and 2 indicate what information is 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


55 


essential on bin tags or bin records. It will 
be noted that this record lists receipts, dis¬ 
bursements, balances, work to which orders 
are applied, and initials of all persons receiv¬ 
ing or disbursing. 

■4 

How Far Have We Gone? 

Suppose we stop here and get a clear picture 
of how far we have progressed in the study of 
stockkeeping. 

We first considered the two big reasons why 
the foreman should take good care of his stock 
—first, because it helps him in getting out 
production, and second, because it enables him 
to keep down the costs of production. We 
next described the central stores system and 
its most important records. We then took up 
shop stores and the different kinds into which 
they are divided. And of these different kinds, 
we have considered supplies, equipment, tools, 
and raw materials. 

We have still to consider briefly the proper 
care and handling of materials in process, 
partly worked stored materials, finished ma¬ 
terials, sub-assembly and assembly stores, and 
finished products, which brings us to the fifth 
of the nine different types of materials. 



56 MODERN FOREMAN SHIP 


By “materials in process” are meant prima¬ 
rily the materials on the floor of your shop 
passing thru the processes of your department. 

But materials in process also refer to those 
materials in your lot room already set aside 
in definite lots (as in pans and tote boxes) and 
ready to be put thru as definite jobs. 

While the problems having to do with raw ma¬ 
terials are primarily storage problems, the 
problems of materials in process are those of 
getting the work out. 

In other words, the matters taken up in the 
eighth manual—planning, preparation, sched¬ 
uling, dispatching, doing the operation, in¬ 
spection, interference—relate to materials in 
process as much as they do to machines and 
men. 

It will be worth our while at this point to look 
briefly at the more important of these matters, 
as they affect materials in process: 

The Time Element 

Time is a big factor in production. If goods 
are not coming thru properly, the foreman 
should know of the trouble at once, so that he 
can rectify it as soon as possible. 




THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


57 


The Movement of Material 

The question of moving the material in pro¬ 
cess from machine to machine is often a prob¬ 
lem. If not properly handled, it may clutter 
up the floor, fill the aisles, call for a waste of 
time and human effort in lifting and apply¬ 
ing it to the machine, and congregate at cer¬ 
tain choke points, thus slowing up the flow 
of work. 

The practical foreman finds that the proper 
conveying of material into, thru, and out of 
his department has much to do with the suc¬ 
cess of his output. Therefore he makes a 
study of conveying systems in order to dis¬ 
cover what system is best adapted to his de¬ 
partment and materials. 

The Question of Quality 

It is the foreman’s duty to see that the mate¬ 
rials in process in his department not only 
come thru on time but also conform to certain 
standards at every step of the processing. It 
is for the purpose of making sure that the work 
is being done according to specifications, that 
process inspection, described in the eighth 
manual, is recommended for the foreman. 
Whether he calls it by this name or not, the 
foreman will want to keep a close eye on the 
material as it passes thru his machines. 




58 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


The Question of Waste 

There may be some operating waste in connec¬ 
tion with the processing of a certain depart¬ 
ment, but it is largely up to the foreman to de¬ 
termine whether that waste shall be large or 
small. By showing his workers how to pro¬ 
cure the greatest amount of usable product 
from a given amount of material, and by en¬ 
couraging the thrifty use of supplies and tools, 
the foreman can often effect savings in his de¬ 
partment running into thousands of dollars 
annually. 


VI—Partly Worked Stored Material 

It sometimes will happen that after certain 
operations have been performed on a lot of 
materials in a department, and before the 
other operations can be done, it is found nec¬ 
essary to discontinue work and to store the 
material in the department until further no¬ 
tice. 

It is generally to be regretted that material 
has thus to be stored in a half-finished state. 
True, it may occasionally happen that a sched¬ 
ule needs switching, and that material partly 
processed must be set aside for a time, while 
a more urgent job goes thru. But the practice 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


59 


of working on material just to keep the men 
and machines busy, of starting work and then 
leaving it half finished, is bad. For it ties up 
money, uses up storage space, and renders the 
material less salable than it is in its raw state. 

The foreman with partly worked stored ma¬ 
terial on his hands should realize that such 
material is running up interest and rental 
costs, with the liability of greater deteriora¬ 
tion or obsolescence for every day that it is 
stored. Only where the best interests of the 
company are served by his keeping it stored 
this way, should he tolerate it. But it may 
frequently happen that, unknown to the man¬ 
agement, various odds and ends of partly 
worked material may be tucked away in out- 
of-the-way corners of a department. The 
foreman should hale these into the light, take 
an accounting of them, and report them to the 
management. They should not be in his de¬ 
partment except for a good reason. 

VII—Finished Material 

“Finished material” in this sense refers to ma¬ 
terial finished as far as your shop is concerned. 
It is the material on which your shop has done 
all the processing expected of it. It is now 
ready to be moved on to the next shop. 



60 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


While in some shops it is possible to move all 
material out of the shop and into the next shop 
as soon as it is finished, in other shops this is 
not possible, since the next shop may not be 
ready to handle it at the time. In such cases 
the finished material stays in the department 
until the next shop is ready to receive it, or it 
is sent to central stores. 

Where the material is heavy or bulky, it is not 
moved about much, but will probably be left 
for a time on the floor of the shop that has just 
finished operations on it. Where the material 
is lighter and more easily handled, it may be 
returned to central stores, or may be con¬ 
signed to a special room in the shop just finish¬ 
ing work on it. This is usually known as the 
“inspection room” or the “move material” 
room. 

It is often the case that the foreman’s finished 
material presents a greater temptation to the 
worker to pilfer it than does the raw material. 
The foreman recognizes this fact, and there¬ 
fore guards more carefully the finished ma¬ 
terial stored in his department. 

VIII—Sub-Assembly and Assembly Stores 

In every assembling industry, whether its 
work be the manufacture of a watch, a type- 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


61 


writer, or an automobile, the different com¬ 
ponents of the product, having passed into the 
finished material state, have now reached a 
place where the only thing left to do is to put 
the components together. 

A shop where only some part of the finished 
product is assembled, as an automobile engine, 
for example, is called a sub-assembly room. 
The shop where all the sub-assembled and 
other parts are combined to make the finished 
product, is called the final assembly room. 

» 

These sub-assembly and assembly rooms will, 
as a matter of course, require a large amount 
of stores, since every component going into 
the product will be required here. This large 
volume of necessary assembly stores often ren¬ 
ders it advisable to have branch storerooms ad¬ 
joining the assembly department so that the 
components can be got at readily for assembly 
purposes. 


IX—Finished Products 

Whether a product is of the assembled or the 
nonassembled type, it finally reaches the fin¬ 
ished state and is ready for the market. 

There are two special conditions affecting fin- 



62 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


ished products which the foreman may have 
to consider. 

The finished product may have to be stored 
awaiting sales and shipments. While it is the 
rule to provide special warerooms for such 
storage, yet there are circumstances where the 
product is kept in the department doing the 
last operations on it. Where the foreman has 
to look after such finished product, he has to 
exercise all the care and guardianship against 
the dangers mentioned under raw materials— 
overloading of shelves and floors, exposure, 
temperature changes, fire risks, damage, and 
theft; only here he must use greater over¬ 
sight, because of the greater value of the 
goods. 

The finished product may have to be prepared 
for shipment. In this case the foreman’s du¬ 
ties would include keeping on hand the right 
kinds and amounts of materials—containers, 
and packing material—for shipping the goods. 


The Monthly Audit Keeps the Shops Clear 

An informal audit taken under the supervi¬ 
sion of the foreman is a procedure which can 
be carried out to advantage once a month. 
This sort of audit is practically a monthly 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


63 


housecleaning, for at this time decision should 
be made as to the disposition of unclaimed or 
doubtful material or tools; and materials 
which have been sent to the shop and on which 
work has been suspended for some reason or 
other, can be ordered back into stores. 

“I remember during my army experience, 
climbing over a pile of condemned bolts of 
cloth in the work room of a uniform factory,” 
remarked a plant superintendent in comment¬ 
ing on this practice. “On speaking to the fore¬ 
man of the department about them, I found 
him admitting that he had clambered over 
some of these bolts for several months. As 
a result of my suggestion, many tons of this 
material were removed from the factory 
floors, expediting work and making the place 
more safe and orderly.” 

No competent foreman would ever have al¬ 
lowed that troublesome and dangerous pile of 
material to accumulate over a period of sev¬ 
eral months, or several weeks, or for that mat¬ 
ter several days. 

In the monthly audit, it is a good plan to start 
in at one end of the shop with the counter and 
checker, and leave a ticket or tag in each box 
or barrel, or wired to each big casting, indi- 




64 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


eating that it has been included in the audit, 
and also indicating where the article is to be 
moved to, if it is to be moved. 

This monthly check curbs shortages and ex¬ 
cesses and keeps the floor clear of materials, 
tools, fixtures, etc., so that the physical inven¬ 
tory may be taken at any time. 

The Gist of Our Discussion 

There are two values you can get out of this 
discussion: 

First, you can use it to help you to size up bet¬ 
ter the whole subject of stockkeeping. Second, 
you can use it as a reference book to aid you 
on your everyday job. To get this second 
value out of it, you will want to keep this man¬ 
ual handy, and to dip into it whenever you 
need its special information — its charts, 
forms, and summarizing facts. 

To get the first value out of it, you will want— 
now that you have finished the discussion, 
and before you lay it aside—to lean back in 
your chair, shut your eyes, and figure out 
what is the gist of what you have read. 

Here, as we see it, is the gist of this manual: 

It pays a foreman to know how to take good 
care of his stock. 



THE FOREMAN AS STOCKKEEPER 


65 


In taking care of his stock, he usually must 
work hand-in-glove with a central stores de¬ 
partment. It will therefore pay him to know 
how a balance-of-stores record is kept, and he 
will want to understand certain other central 
stores records. 

But the foreman’s biggest duty is to take 
proper care of the stock while it is in his own 
shop. It has been found by practice that this 
is best accomplished by the following methods: 

1. Divide the stock or stores into a number of 
standard classes. (See list on page 35.) 

2. Keep each class in a place of its own, prop¬ 
erly identified, arranged, and guarded. 

3. Keep suitable records in connection with 
handling this stock. 

4. Realize that the foreman, in the proper han¬ 
dling of the stock submitted to his care, is 
just as truly a business man as is anyone 
else who influences values by the proper 
management of commodities and services. 


The Next Manual 

The tenth manual describes yet a further step 
forward in good management for the foreman 
—“Cost Control in the Shop.” Since it is not 





66 


MODERN FOREMANSHIP 


alone getting out production that counts, but 
rather getting out production at a good profit, 
the experienced foreman comes to realize that 
by training himself to understand and control 
the costs of his shop, he can do more good for 
the company and make a better showing for 
his shop, than by unorganized and haphazard 
attempts to get out the product. 

The tenth manual proposes to give you a good 
general grounding in the whole subject of con¬ 
trolling the costs in your department as a 
means to making your department more prof¬ 
itable. 































